Virtual Volume Tier Management for Storage Pool Performance
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Solution Overview
Problem
In a storage system where multiple virtual volumes (VVOLs) share a single pool, high-performance pages become depleted when preferentially assigned to a specific VVOL, leading to insufficient performance for other VVOLs, and page reassignment increases unnecessary load on the storage apparatus.
Innovation Solution
A storage system configuration that allows real areas to be assigned from any available tier to a VVOL based on access status, with a management system predicting performance and adjusting available tiers to meet the required performance of all VVOLs without reassignment or adding high-performance physical storage devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high-performance pages are preferentially assigned to a specific VVOL, then the required performance of that VVOL is met, but high-performance pages become depleted and other VVOLs cannot meet their required performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary prediction of pool capacity depletion before it actually occurs. The management system predicts when high-performance pages will be depleted based on current allocation trends and VVOL access patterns, and proactively adjusts the available tier patterns for multiple VVOLs simultaneously to prevent depletion, rather than reacting after the problem arises.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts the available tier patterns for multiple VVOLs based on predicted pool capacity trends. Instead of static tier assignments, the system continuously monitors pool usage and modifies which tiers are available to which VVOLs in real-time, allowing the pool to adapt to changing performance requirements and preventing any single VVOL from monopolizing high-performance pages.
2Reliability
If page reassignment is performed to reallocate high-performance pages, then other VVOLs can meet their required performance, but unnecessary load increases on the storage apparatus
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary prediction and prevention rather than corrective reassignment. By predicting pool capacity depletion in advance and proactively adjusting available tier patterns, the patent avoids the need for subsequent page reassignment operations that would consume additional processing resources and increase operational load on the storage apparatus.
Solution Approach 2:
The management system continuously monitors pool usage patterns and VVOL access behavior, using this feedback to predict future capacity depletion. This feedback loop enables the system to make informed decisions about tier pattern adjustments without requiring resource-intensive reassignment operations, as the system adapts preventively based on observed trends.
3Productivity
If multiple VVOLs share a single pool, then resource utilization efficiency improves, but high-performance pages become depleted when assigned to specific VVOLs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables dynamic adjustment of available tier patterns for multiple VVOLs sharing a pool. The system monitors pool usage and performance requirements in real-time, dynamically modifying which tiers are available to each VVOL to ensure that high-performance pages are distributed appropriately among multiple VVOLs, maintaining both resource utilization efficiency and performance guarantees.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameters of tier availability by adjusting the available tier pattern for multiple VVOLs simultaneously. Instead of fixed allocations, the management system modifies the set of accessible tiers for each VVOL based on predicted pool capacity and performance requirements, allowing flexible resource sharing while preventing depletion of high-performance pages.
Data Source
AI summary
A storage system manages a pool to which multiple VVOLs (virtual logical volumes conforming to thin provisioning) are associated, assigns a real area (RA) from any tier in an available tier pattern associated with a write-destination VVOL to a write-destination virtual area (VA), and carries out a reassignment process for migrating data inside this RA to an RA of a different tier than the tier having this RA based on the access status of the RA assigned to the VA. A management system assumes that a specified tier has been removed from the available tier pattern of a target VVOL, predicts the performance of the target VVOL and all the other VVOL associated with the pool to which the target VVOL is associated, determines whether or not there is a VVOL for which the predicted performance is lower than a required performance, and when such a VVOL does not exist, instructs the storage system to remove the specified tier from the available tier pattern of the target VVOL.